The National Latin Exam is a test sponsored by the American Classical League as well as the National Junior Classical League. The exam will be given to Farmington High School (FHS) students in the early spring. 

The National Latin Exam is given to students across the country ranging from Latin I to Latin VI+ levels, meaning students as young as middle school, and as old as college are able to take the test. FHS offers courses from Latin II through Latin V, with students from each level taking the exam this year.

The Latin program has been giving the exam to its students for many years, the exam gives students the opportunity to win various awards and possibly even a scholarship. One of the scholarships that students have the chance to win is The Maureen O’Donnell Scholarship for Academic Excellence. This scholarship awards $2,000 to 16 qualifying high school seniors throughout the country. The mission and goal of this scholarship is similar to that of the entire National Latin Exam; to promote the study of Latin.

Students study Latin throughout the whole school year, but put extra time into preparing for the National Latin Exam this season. With guidance from Latin teacher Margaret Antonitis, students study and look forward to the exam to assess their knowledge and skills on a variety of topics including grammar, history, reading interpretation, and translating.

“The exam is a way for Latin students to test their translation skills and knowledge of classical history against tens of thousands of other Latin students across the country. Farmington’s students are sponsored by the generous school and historically perform well,” junior Eddie Malakh said.

Last year, two FHS students were recognized with awards for their above average scores, including Malakh who earned Cum Laude on the Latin III Prose exam and senior Darren Lee who earned Magna Cum Laude on the Latin IV Prose exam.

“I thought that taking the exam was definitely a good challenge but some things that I found were very helpful in preparing for it were using my background knowledge and reviewing what we were learning in class,” Lee said.

The National Latin Exam is a great way for Latin students to be more engaged in the study of Latin. FHS Latin students look forward to representing the school and themselves as they prepare to take the exam. For more information visit www.nle.org.